GLAAD's decision to cancel its yearly
awards show over coronavirus (COVID-19) concerns is expected to cost
the LGBT advocacy group $2 million.
GLAAD's Media Awards take place in New
York City and Los Angeles over two months.
(Related: GLAAD
Media Awards in New York canceled over coronavirus.)
The group canceled its New York event
scheduled for March 19 but said it will hold its April 16 Los Angeles
ceremony in the fall.
(Related: GLAAD
cancels Media Awards in Los Angeles.)
Speaking with Variety, GLAAD
President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis said that GLAAD could be looking
at a loss of $2 million.
“This is a $2 million implication to
our bottom line,” she
said. “They are our biggest fundraising events and they help
support a lot of our programming.”
Ellis said that corporate sponsors,
which include Gilead Sciences, Hyundai, and Ketel One, as well as
individual donors have agreed to honor their financial commitments.
“[T]he majority of them without even
having to ask offered and said they would turn it into a donation. It
is amazing. It is phenomenal,” Ellis said.
Revenue from other fundraising
activities such as auctions and last-minute ticket and table buys
would be lost. Ellis said that many of the items up for auction are
cruises and trips, which under the current environment of travel
restrictions and “stay at home” orders are worthless.
Ellis added that 90 percent of major
ticket buyers have agreed to donate the cost of the tickets.